Review Changes in an Edited Document in MS Word 2021

[Jim_Wise]

I have been using MS Word 2010 for a long time; just purchased MS Word 2021 about 6 months ago. In 2010 I could mouse over specific changes in a doc and a balloon would pop up showing who made the changes on what date.  I cannot figure out how to mouse over changes in 2021 and see who made the edit and when. I can see who and when made edits if I want to follow the dashed red line and go and read outside the margins, however, it takes longer and slows me down. It was so simple just to

mouse over a specific edit and see who/when. 

Is this feature not available in 2021 or do I not have things set up properly? 

Thank you!

Jim`

[#2]

@Jim_Wise 

I couldn't find any specific information about a feature in MS Word 2021 that allows you to mouse over changes and see who made the edit and when.

However, you can try this link

Hovering mouse over Word icons

This might help you see more information when hovering over icons in Word.

[#3]

@Jim_Wise 

In recent versions of Word, resting the mouse pointer on a tracked change will not necessarily show information about the tracked change. This is likely a bug.

[#4]

@Stefan_Blom 

Stefan, I agree with you, I think it must be a bug. I can't not imagine Microsoft removing such an important feature from Office 2021. To be able to quickly mouse over a change and see who made the change and when was very convenient feature. Now I have to follow the light red dotted line over to the right side of my screen to figure out who made the change and when. I can still get the information, it just takes longer. And, if there are several different changes in the same area, it's difficult for me to see who did what/when.  I never had any problems with mousing over changes in Word 2010 or 2013. 

I called Microsoft Support, and the rep told me they only could help with installation of Office. The rep gave me this community site address and told me to post here. I specifically ask the rep if it was just a community supported site for Word or if Microsoft employees monitored the site and responded. He told me Microsoft employees monitored and would respond. The rep also told me that there were a lot of changes on Word 2021 and the feature may have been removed. If it is a bug, I hope someone will tell me how to fix it.  I do a lot of work in Word and not having the mouse over slows me down. 

Thank you so kindly for responding. Do you know anyway to escalate the question to the Microsoft gods? 

Regards, 

Jim

[#5]

@Jim_Wise 

I believe this has been already reported to Microsoft. You can report it, too, using the Feedback facility in Word; see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-365-2b102d44-b43f-4dd....

[#6]

Hi Stefan,

Thank you for your response. Question - as an MVP do you have an elevated line of communications with Microsoft. I just would like to know if it is a bug or if this feature is not included in Word 2021. If it is a bug, then it may be worth the time to try and see if Microsoft ever plans to fix it, but if the feature is not available in 2021 then my efforts would just be a waste of time. It has been my experience that Microsoft hardly ever responds. We have been trying to for months to get a response from Microsoft about some new bugs in Skype and all we get are meaningless stock answers. It seems Microsoft is focused on Bing AI these days and everything else is just getting neglected.... If you have a direct line of communication, could you kindly pass on my issue? Thank you, Jim

[#7]

@Jim_Wise 

This has been fixed in the most recent release of the subscription version (version 2304, Word part of Microsoft 365): 

When I tested this earlier in my version of Word 2021, it appears that it wasn't fixed, though. :(

[#8]

@Jim_Wise 

As an MVP, I am able to forward bug reports to the Office team; that is correct.

I think this has already been done, with this particular issue, but I can ask again, and find out if there will be a fix for the perpetual licenses (Office 2021). 

[#9]

Thank you Stefan for your assistance.

[#10]

@Jim_Wise 

I have sent a question to the Office team. I'll post back with any reply that I receive.